VANCOUVER -- Saying they had learned from the mistakes that contributed to the ugly Stanley Cup riot last year, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and other Metro officials are rolling up the red carpet to downtown public celebrations should the Vancouver Canucks make it to the semifinals of the playoffs this year.

Instead, the city plans to put out little red carpets at its 23 community centres, inviting families and youth to watch the playoffs in much more toned-down conditions than the closed streets and Jumbotron screens that attracted 150,000 people last June 15.

And as part of the elusive goal of fostering civility during hockey playoffs, police throughout the Lower Mainland have signed on to a multi-jurisdictional plan to stop the free flow of alcohol into downtown Vancouver, aggressively patrol against potential rioters, and even shut down transit systems when unruly crowds begin to congregate.

In a briefing Tuesday Robertson said he believes most people have got the message that what happened last June, when several thousand people rioted in the face of the Canucks' seventh-game loss to the Boston Bruins, cannot happen again. The full effects of that riot, which caused millions of dollars in damage and gave the city an international black eye, have not yet run their course. At least 75 people have been charged with nearly 200 criminal offences, from participating in a riot to theft and assault.

"We have been working very hard to ensure the lessons from the Game 7 tragedy are reflected in this year's plan," Robertson said. "Having fun doesn't mean coming down and trashing our downtown. You better not come downtown and do that."

Robertson said the city won't allow street closures and huge gatherings downtown for the playoffs. But it also doesn't want to go back to the "no fun city" moniker.

So Vancouver will spend $100,000 on "community celebrations" at its community centres, geared toward families. It is also hiring an event planner to help create a festive air for those who want to celebrate the Canucks as they proceed through the playoffs. Many more details won't be finalized until the Canucks get deep into the playoffs.

In the nine months since the riot, the city has turned itself inside out trying to determine how, for the second time in its history, hockey playoffs turned into a riot. There have been at least four separate investigations or reviews into the 2011 riot, including one by the city, one by the Vancouver police department, an independent review by John Furlong and Doug Keefe, and a technical review by the Ottawa Police Department. They collectively issued 129 recommendations, from the need for earlier interdiction of alcohol on SkyTrain to better coordination between agencies to eliciting support from media to get "don't be a binge drinker" messages out to the public.

Many of those recommendations were at the crux of the changes the city announced Tuesday in partnership with TransLink, the Vancouver police department, B.C. Ambulance Service and several other partners. The city says 101 of the 129 recommended changes have already been made and many of the rest will be done by the time the playoffs start next month.

Robertson said he wants to see people come downtown to patronize bars, restaurants and other businesses, and the city will "scale up" its response as the Canucks proceed through the playoffs. But the city may rely on SkyTrain to either close stations or skip stops to limit people coming downtown.

Doug Kelsey, the chief operating officer of TransLink, said his agency made a mistake last year in not controlling drinking crowds that boarded SkyTrain. "I think we have to be self-reflective on this. One thing we did not do, the region did not do, was put in place the liquor interdiction strategy soon enough," he said. "You will see the increased police interdiction strategy with the regional police. Transit police can't carry this all off themselves."

Deputy Police Chief Doug LePard said police don't expect trouble this year because of the continuing riot investigation. He said VPD is in the last stages of signing agreements with other Metro police departments to render mutual aid around "regional events". Details on how that aid would be financed are nearly complete. Vancouver has long complained that it has to bear the financial brunt for celebrations that attract citizens from all over Metro Vancouver.

LePard said the police will be equipped with more cameras to identify suspects, and will carry pre-printed tickets to hand out for liquor violations. That advance effort will help slow down people intent on bringing alcohol illegally to consume in public places.

"Make no mistake, if people intend to come downtown to make trouble, we will be waiting," LePard said.

Noticeably absent from the press conference was Canucks Sports & Entertainment, the owners of the National Hockey League team. Robertson said the company is fully supportive of the city's plans and is also developing its own messaging plan for its' 700,000 fans. That program will be announced by the company later, he said.

Furlong, whose independent review into the Stanley Cup Riot was considered the blueprint for the new changes, said he was pleased with the efforts made to avoid a repeat of last year's fiasco.

"Everyone is holding hands on this," he said, adding he doesn't believe another riot will ensue. But he grew testy when reporters persisted in questioning how the city was going to deal with young people who don't want to go to community centres and instead come downtown.

"There have been three questions about if there is a plan, and there have been questions about costs. There is a plan," he said. "The thing is, the test I put this (plan) to is whether this layout, this plan, this strategy is going to adapt with the changing environment that we might get ourselves into. As we go along the plan is well set up to manage against the changing environment. The biggest thing about this plan is it decentralizes the activity."

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